Honoring Our Veterans Today...

"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."  

-G.K. Chesterton

“Hero’s Welcome” by Norman Rockwell
Saturday Evening Post cover,
published February 22, 1919.

Leap into the New Year with these 10 "Lords"!

Norman Rockwell (source)

1-“Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true” 
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson quotes (English poet often regarded as the chief representative of the Victorian age in poetry, 1809-1892)

2-"Time! on whose arbitrary wing 
   The varying hours must flag or fly, 
Whose tardy winter, fleeting spring, 
   But drag or drive us on to die--- 
Hail thou! who on my birth bestowed 
   Those boons to all that know thee known; 
Yet better I sustain thy load, 
   For now I bear the weight alone."
-George Gordon, Lord Byron (He was among the most famous of the English 'Romantic' poets, 1788-1824)

 3-"The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places. But still there is much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps, the greater.” 
 - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings 

4-"The Boy-Who-Lived. How lies have fed your legend, Harry! Do you want to know what really happened thirteen years ago? Shall I divulge how I truly lost my powers? It was love. You see, when dear sweet Lily Potter gave her life for her only son, it provided him with the ultimate protection, I could not touch him. It was old magic, something I should have foreseen."
-Lord Voldemort, from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

5-“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
-Old Testament, Zephaniah 3:17

6-"I have given my life to Downton, I was born here and I hope to die here. It is my third parent and fourth child. Do I care about it? Yes, I do care!"
-Robert Crawley, Lord Grantham of Downton Abbey television series

7- "I shall desire you all, my lords, (chiefly you of the nobility, everyone in his degree and power) to be assistant to me that I, with my ruling, and you with your service, may make a good account to Almighty God and leave some comfort to our posterity on earth."
-Queen Elizabeth, at the beginning of her reign

8-"My mother said, Don't worry about what people think now. Think about whether your children and grandchildren will think you've done well."  
-Lord Mountbatten, Last Viceroy of British India and Governor-General of Independent India (1900-1979)

9 & 10- from Little Lord Fauntleroy, by Frances Hodgson Burnett (the tale of a young charming and innocent American child, Cedric, who finds out he is really a British lord):

Gainsborough's Blue Boy source

“His greatest charm was this cheerful, fearless, quaint little way of making friends with people. I think it arose from his having a very confiding nature, and a kind little heart that sympathized with every one, and wished to make every one as comfortable as he liked to be himself.”

"What the Earl saw was a graceful, childish figure in a black velvet suit, with a lace collar, and with lovelocks waving about the handsome, manly little face, whose eyes met his with a look of innocent good-fellowship."



Polly Hovarth writes that Little Lord Fauntleroy "was the Harry Potter of his time and Frances Hodgson Burnett was as celebrated for creating him as J.K. Rowling is for Potter." During the serialization in St. Nicholas magazine, readers looked forward to new installments. The fashions in the book became popular with velvet Lord Fauntleroy suits being sold, as well as other Fauntleroy merchandise such as velvet collars, playing cards, and chocolates. During a period when sentimental fiction was the norm, and in the United States the "rags to riches" story popular, Little Lord Fauntleroy was a hit. [source: Wikipedia]

"The Year of the Girl"

This year marks the centennial celebration of the Girl Scouts, and 2012 has been named "The Year of the Girl" (learn more at www.girlscouts.org/).  On March 12, 1912, the first Girl Scout Troop meeting was held, consisting of 18 girls led by Girl Scouts founder Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low in her hometown of Savanna, Georgia.

Brownie Scouts Lea Griffin (left) and Brenda Holloman plant big kisses
on the cheeks of Mrs. Samuel Lawrence, the first Girl Scout, and niece of
Girl Scouts of America founder, Juliette Low.
Photo by Jim Bisson. Oct. 30, 1958. [source here]

WHO WAS THE FIRST GIRL SCOUT?
"The young woman who was the first Girl Scout in the United States became so without either knowing it or accepting the honor.  In fact, when Aunt Juliette Low, who founded the first troop, in Savannah, GA in 1912, informed her niece that she, Daisy Gordon was enrolled as Scout No. 1, young Miss Gordon was "a little annoyed." [source: The Evening Independent 1940]

Since that time, Girls Scouts has grown to 3.7 million members and is the largest educational organization for girls in the world.  Generations of women and girls have enjoyed scouting over the years.

As a young girl in Memphis, TN, I joined the "Brownies" with my neighbor friend and her sister.  I remember my little hat and uniform, weekly meetings, making crafts, and learning about doing good deeds. One summer I got to go to a day camp - only the Girl Scouts spent the night - where we sang campfire songs like "Kookaburra" and "White Coral Bells".

My family moved away, and I never became a Girl Scout, but my Aunt Marna was involved in Girl Scouts for many years in Minnesota.  She recently reminisced, "When I was a child, Girl Scouts taught me some lifelong skills, including how to knit, how to be a team member, and how to camp. When I started to be a leader at the age of 16, I learned lots of leadership skills through the years. I also made lifelong friends." (She and her last co-leader were able to find 28 members of their troop and had a reunion this past August!)

NORMAN ROCKWELL AND THE GIRL SCOUTS
If you've followed my blog very long, you may remember my post about Norman Rockwell and his first job - while still in his teens - as art director for BOY'S LIFE, the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America.

But are you aware that Rockwell also figured into the history of the Girl Scouts of America?

“Good Scouts (Portrait of a Girl Scout),” 1924, Norman Rockwell (1894-1978).
Cover illustration for “Life” magazine, November 6, 1924. 
Norman Rockwell Museum Digital Collections.

In 1977, Norman Rockwell was approached by the Franklin Mint to create a dozen designs for medallions depicting the ideals of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America on the occasion of the organization’s 65th anniversary. The artist, a long-time supporter of Scouting, created engaging scenes illustrating such tenets of the Girl Scout Law as “respectful,” “resourceful,” “be prepared,” and “on my honor.”

This Saturday, September 22, 2012 the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA, will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts with a special centennial celebration to be held at the Museum from 1 to 4 p.m. (Look HERE for more information. To learn more about Scout guided visits and workshops held year-round at Norman Rockwell Museum, visit www.nrm.org/visit/scouts.)

BOOKS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF GIRL SCOUTS

(click the images to link to Amazon for details)

"A Painting Celebrating Literature"...

Boy Reading Adventure Story

The Saturday Evening Post, November 10, 1923

by Norman Rockwell

Collection of George Lucas

Boy Reading Adventure Story is about the power of the written word to transport a child to a distant land and time. George Lucas commented, "It's a painting celebrating literature, the magic that happens when you read a story, and the story comes alive for you." When working on STAR WARS, he said, "I realized that you could still sit and dream about exotic lands and strange creatures."

Click on the link to see a slideshow of the whole exhibition online: Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg

NORMAN ROCKWELL AND THE BOY SCOUTS

"Who am I?
I am America
as deep and warm,
great and tall,
as Norman Rockwell painted me..."

So starts the book, NORMAN ROCKWELL'S AMERICANA ABC, with text by George Mendoza.  I am lucky enough to have a copy of this beautiful book and I hope it will someday be brought back into print.

Norman Rockwell, who was born on February 3, 1894, wasn't known for being a children's book illustrator, but he definitely drew for children - his first job (when still in his teens!) was as art director for BOY'S LIFE, the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America.  Incidentally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BOY SCOUTS, founded on this day, February 8, 1910.

Rockwell is probably best remembered for his paintings on the covers of THE SATURDAY EVENING POST.  His first cover appeared in 1916, when he was just 22 years old.  Over the next 47 years, an additional 321 Rockwell paintings would appear on the cover of this popular American periodical.  He recruited family, friends, and neighbors as his models!

The nostalgic documentary below contains interviews from some of his neighbors who modeled, as they look back on how he set up the scenes for the photographs he painted from.  (It includes an interview with the woman who as a girl, was the model for the "Girl at the Mirror" painting, that I've shown below).

You might also enjoy watching American Chronicles:  
The Art of Norman Rockwell (at the end, you'll have the option to watch PART II)

I'll leave you with some excerpts and images from NORMAN ROCKWELL'S AMERICANA ABC:

I am an astronaut on my way to the stars...a
I am a boy, the beginnings of man, looking out to sea...b
I am Christmas and carols that I wish would stay all year...c 
I am a mirror filled with the magic of tomorrow...m

Girl at the Mirror.
Original oil painting for Saturday Evening Post cover,
March 6, 1954. Berkshire Museum, on loan from Norman Rockwell.

I am all the prayers in you...p

Saying Grace.
Original oil painting for Saturday Evening Post cover,
 November 24, 1951.  Collection Mr. and Mrs. Ken Stewart

I am the turkey on your table and the joy of giving thanks...t

Freedom from Want.  Original oil painting for poster, 1943.
Collection Norman Rockwell.

"When I go to farms or little towns, I am always surprised at the discontent I find. And New York, too often, has looked across the sea toward Europe. And all of us who turn our eyes away from what we have are missing life." -Norman Rockwell